“If I had to do it again, I think what I would have said was, if you’re looking for perspective on this, if we’re truly looking for perspective on this, and not merely saying, “Well, this is so sad that for a few minutes it took my attention away from the Seahawks-Bears game” … then a discussion should ensue within sports about the football culture, the gun culture, domestic violence, those issues which we don’t have time to address in the limited space here … (they) should be discussed if we’re looking for some kind of elusive perspective after an event like this,” Costas told Patrick.

Costas said he knew his comments would create “some backlash,” but he finds it “absurd” that some are calling for him to be fired.

“There are reasonable disagreements, and I respect that,” Costas said. “But then there are things that come from every angle, where you just have to say to yourself, ‘Sometimes the quality of the thinking of those who oppose you speaks for itself.’ I was told — I didn’t see it — that someone compared this as a fireable offense to situations in which people have made blatantly racist comments, or comments that had no place whatsoever. This is simply a case of: some people don’t agree with it, or they don’t agree with what they think I was saying, and therefore, it would be okay if I was booted off the air … ‘Let’s fire everybody we disagree with.’ It’s just absurd.”